


My Hero

by rittenden



Category: Emergency!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-18 06:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4695653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rittenden/pseuds/rittenden





	My Hero

The teacher smiled gently at the bowed head before her. "Jeremy," she said. "It's your turn." 

The tousled mop of dark hair moved as the little boy glanced over his shoulder at the door. Turning wide green eyes to her, he pleaded in a whisper "But Teacher...?"

"I'm sorry, Jeremy," she replied. "All of the other children have read their papers. We can't wait any longer."

Tiny shoulders slumped in defeat as the small boy slid from his overlarge desk to stand on the floor. Taking a sheet of paper in hand, he slowly walked to the front of the room. As he took his position in front of the class, the teacher couldn't help but sigh. This one had had it hard - and as the smallest in his grade, was undoubtedly teased daily. She would've given anything to be able to wait a bit longer but she'd stalled as long as she could.

Whispers and giggles slid across the room as Jeremy stood before his peers, the piece of paper held before him like a shield. The teacher shushed the group and then turned to the small boy. "Whenever you're ready, Jeremy," she invited.

With one last longing look at the classroom door, Jeremy drew himself up to his full three-and-a-half foot height and began to read.

"My hero...

My hero is a fireman.

When I was very little, our house burned down. Lots of men came to help us and put out the fire. I didn't know they were there at first because I was in my room. There was lots of smoke and I was scared. Then two men in big coats came and said they were going to take me outside. One of them put a big mask on my face and put his coat over me. There was lots of noise but I couldn't see anything. The man put me down right next to a big fire truck so another fireman called a para... para..." Jeremy moved to his teacher's side and pointed at the page.

"Paramedic," she said slowly.

With a nod, he went on in his small voice "A paramedic... could check to make sure I was okay." Jeremy took a deep breath, flashing the gap where his front teeth should have been. "After the fire was out, I got to ride in a..."

"Ambulance," the teacher offered.

"Ambulance." Jeremy shifted from foot to foot, using the toe of one sneaker to scratch the back of his opposite leg. He studied the page very hard, his brows knitting comically. "The _ambulance_ took me to a hospital and I got to meet a really nice doctor and some nurses."

Jeremy paused to scratch his nose. "I was okay except my clothes were stinky." The other kids tittered at that. "I had to stay at the hospital for a while though because there was nowhere for me to go. My mom and dad died in the fire." The room suddenly went quiet. Oblivious, Jeremy continued "Then a lady came and said there was a place I could stay with some nice people - only they weren't nice. I got to go to the hospital a couple times after that."

He swayed a little as he rocked from one foot to the other. After a lengthy pause, the teacher prompted in a whisper "Jeremy... go on..."

"One place I got to stay at, the man wasn't very nice but the lady took me to Cub Scout meetings. I really liked that. I couldn't stay there very long though because the man left and the lady didn't tell the lady from the hospital. That was a bad thing and she got in lots of trouble.

"The last place I stayed at, the people already had a couple of kids of their own and they were really mean. I kept getting into trouble because they'd do stuff and tell their mom and dad it was me. I got a lot of lickin's because of them."

The teacher brushed surreptitiously at damp eyes. Jeremy continued "I didn't know it but one of the firemen from when my house burned down was asking the doctors and nurses at the hospital about me. The nice doctor told him I was in a foster home..." His head bobbed with the effort of pronunciation. "...But that I wasn't very happy. I met the fireman when I went to cub scouts but I didn't know he was a fireman then."

Glancing at the teacher, who nodded, Jeremy looked around at his classmates. Surprise registered on his face when he realized they were all listening avidly. "Um..." He searched the page again and then nodded. "I couldn't go to cub scouts anymore, which made me sad, but then I forgot because of the mean kids making me sadder. I didn't know it but the fireman was sad I wasn't going to cub scouts anymore and asked the lady who was taking me there where I was but by that time I was already at the house with the mean kids and she didn't know where that was.

The mean kids picked on me lots and I would hide from them in the tree house. One day they found me there and one of them told me I couldn't be in the tree house because it was their tree house and then they pushed me out. It was a big tree house and when I fell out I broke my arm."

Unnoticed to everyone but the teacher, a lone figure slid into the back of the classroom. He winked at the teacher, who smiled and turned back to Jeremy.

He turned the paper over and resumed reading. "I went back to the hospital for my broken arm and the nice doctor called the fireman who'd been looking for me. He came with the lady from before - the one who put me in the first foster home - and she asked me all about the places I'd been living at." His little head went back and forth, searching the page. "...Places I'd been living at," he repeated, then nodded. "I told her about them and then she went out into the hall with the doctor and the fireman. I waited a long time before they came back in. I thought I'd have to stay in the hospital again but the lady said I could go home with the fireman if I wanted.

"I went home with him and we had a real good time. We went to Disneyland and Seaworld and the zoo and the beach... but my favourite is camping. We go camping lots. I got to meet lots more firemen and some policemen and they're really nice.

"I also got my own room that I could paint any colour I liked - I picked blue - and a bed and a dresser with a whole bunch of clothes in it and a desk that's just the right size because the ones at school are too big." The kids in the class laughed. "It's not all fun, though, because I still have to go to bed early and eat all my vegetables and pick up my toys and do my homework.

"On my birthday I had a big party with lots of people there. I didn't get a whole lot of toys but it's okay because I didn't really want them. I did get a puppy, though," Jeremy bounced on the balls of his feet. "His name is Spot and he's a fire dog. That means he's a _dal-ma-shun._ Dalmatian. He's little now but he'll get bigger, just like me. He's white with black spots and black ears."

The figure in the back of the room crossed his arms over his chest, covering his smile with one hand as the little boy continued.

"The best thing I got though wasn't the toys or the puppy - although those were great. The lady from the hospital came and told me that I could stay with the fireman now. I don't have to go to any more foster homes ever again." Jeremy looked up from his paper, his face coming alight with a broad smile when he saw the man at the back of the room. Fidgeting with excitement, he went back to reading.

"Last week I got to go to a courthouse with the lady and the fireman and I got to meet a judge," he said in a rush. "I told him all about how things were after the fire and how great things are now. He asked me if I wanted to stay with the fireman and I said yes.

"My hero is a fireman," Jeremy went on. "But now he's also my dad. I have lots of aunts and uncles now and I love them all very much but the best person ever is my dad, Mike Stoker."

At that, Jeremy ran to the back of the room and wrapped his arms around the man's legs in a fierce hug. Mike reached down and picked him up, easily hoisting the small boy up onto his hip. Jeremy smiled a gap-toothed grin and asked "Did you like it, Dad?" just as the bell began to ring.

"Fantastic," Mike replied. "Good job, Sport."

Threading her way through the general clamour of children leaving, the teacher stopped in front of the pair. "That was very good, Jeremy," she said with a smile. "I really liked your story." She turned to Mike. "And you must be Mr. Stoker?"

Mike nodded. Giving Jeremy a small bounce, he said "Jeremy's dad." He looked at the teacher. "The fireman," he added.

"Congratulations to you both," she replied. "It's not every day you get to meet a real live hero."

"Did you wanna meet my aunties and uncles, Teacher?" Jeremy asked. "I've got lots now! We're gonna have a barbecue!"

Smiling at his enthusiasm, the teacher said "Maybe some other time, Jeremy. You have fun this weekend."

"I will," the little boy called from over Mike's shoulder. "Bye Teacher!" The two left the room.

In the quiet that followed, the teacher reached down and picked up Jeremy's discarded paper. She smoothed it between her two hands as she walked back to her desk, noting the many grey spots where corrections had been made and remade. She pulled open a drawer and took out a red pen and a small package. In the upper corner of the page, she wrote _'Well Done!'_ and then took a small gold star from the package to stick underneath. With a happy sigh, she tacked the paper to the board behind her desk, giving it a small pat. "Well done, Jeremy," she said softly, then added "Well done, Mike Stoker."


End file.
